"We learn best by doing... when we reflect on what was done"

It is true that we learn best by doing, but depth of learning comes when we reflect on what was done... or is being done. 

If you want to facilitate meaningful learning in the context of youth leadership, consider not only providing opportunities for young people to engage in reflection, but also for them to develop an appreciation for the value of reflecting. 

This reflective practice starts with meaning full engagement - be sure to design 'learning experiences' that challenge young people... that engage them beyond the repetition of automated, rote responses.

For more guidelines about how you can facilitate deeper understandings, insightful and innovative thinking, check out "Developing Youth Leadership through Sport" at Developing Youth Leadership through Sport

Facilitating Learning

Developing leadership skills is not an automatic process. If we want to awaken the leadership potential of young people we must design learning experiences that generate those specific, intended outcomes. Participating in random projects and activities does not necessarily facilitate leadership development... unless we know what we want that engagement to lead to. So, start by identifying which leadership skill you want to focus on and then design a learning experience that challenges the young participants and that leads to a deeper understanding/appreciation of the key concepts and principles linked to the specific leadership skill.

For more information on designing learning experiences to develop youth leadership check out Mark's book: Developing Youth Leadership through Sport (available on Amazon Kindle and print on demand).

Recognise the value of young people

A good starting premise when working with youth in developing their leadership capacity is to recognise that they all have tremendous value. Our role is not necessarily to ADD value, but certainly to AWAKEN the value that they already possess.

Welcome to the Youth Sport Leadership blog!

Welcome to the youth sport leadership blog. I'll be sharing lessons from the field, ideas from practitioners and reflections from personal experiences.